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Women's Soccer Loses Opener

Mac Riddel, 9/13/96

St. Benedict's defeated Concordia 2-6 on Saturday, and the Cobbers fell to Division II team North Dakota State University 0-1 on Tuesday.

Against St. Ben's, previously injured senior Jessica Sauer scored the only two goals of the game. The first goal was assisted by Britt Nielson; the second was all Sauer's. St. Ben's offense dominated the rest of the game, putting the Cobbers at 1-1 for the season.

"The score doesn't reflect how our team has performed, but does show the team can play with anyone," said assistant coach Deb Hallquist.

The team believes that it is in the best shape ever and is excited for each upcoming game.

"I'm really happy and surprised at how our team is playing this year so far. We have lots to learn yet, but we know that. We are all excited to get out there and show what we are worth," said senior fullback Kelly Morehead.

Sauer said last Saturday's conference game was a good learning experience for the team.

"Hopefully we can get our mistakes out early, learn from them, and play hard in the upcoming games," she said.

In Tuesday's game against NDSU, the game's only goal slipped past defense in the last two minutes of the first half.

"We had a great passing game against the Bisons," said third-year midfielder Tina Myren. "Our team had a lot of unity, although we started to get a little frustrated as the game wore on."

After the game, the Bison head coach made his way over to the team and complemented the Cobbers on their domination.

"We played really hard and we should have won that one," said senior captian Angie Tohm.

"We played with all of the teams, but the consistency wasn't there," said junior Angie Carlin. "We have to click as a team."

In the third match of the tournament, Concordia took Nebraska's Wayne State to the final game, but fell short in a 14-16 fifth game loss. The Cobbers won the first and third games 15-8, but Wayne State rallied for two wins and clinched the match.

Junior setter Marsha Suko had 49 assits and four digs. Sophomore Laurie Flick led the Cobbers with three service aces.

"We felt we could compete with Division II and we always worked hard the whole tournament," said Flick.

Concordia had only two days to prepare for non-conference rivals Moorhead State following the SDSU tournament. Concordia defeated the Dragons in the first game 16-14 in a back and forth round.

In the second game, however, the Cobbers suffered a 15-8 loss. After the defeat, Mosser attempted to regroup.

"We got away form what we were doing in the first game. We played too reserved and held back," said Mosser. "What we need to do is stay focused but become more aggressive in the process."

According to Mosser, these losses won't affect his team's goals and aspirations.

"We try to take each match and learn form it," he said. "We're a young team and if we can continue to learn more about ourselves each match and become more consistent, winning will come with time. We have to believe we're a great team and can do great things if we play up to our potential."

The Cobbers take on Bethel today and tomorrow in St. Paul, MN. They open up conference play against Augsburg Sept. 21.

"We're excited and working together as a team. We feel we can beat anyone in the conference if we play as a team," said Carlin.

Opening day ended in a loss for the Concordia football team in the Sept. 7 Crystal Bowl. The Cobbers fell to the Moorhead State University Dragons 31-14.

"Last week really hurt the team because Moorhead is something we look forward to all summer and to come out with a loss is really disappointing, " said senior halfback Eli Schuff.

After a season kickoff special featuring skydivers, the Dragons got on the board early with a 62-yard touchdown run. The Dragons held a 17-0 lead late in the first half until senior wide receiver Tory Langemo scored the first Cobber touchdown.

Concordia received the second-half kickoff and managed to drive for another touchdown, again by Langemo.

MSU went on to score two more touchdowns during the second half. The Cobbers had the chance to take the lead in the third quarter until the Dragons recovered and scored on a fumble by Schuff.

"I think that was the play that broke our back," said head coach Jim Christopherson.

American Crystal Sugar Company, which sponsors the Crystal Bowl every year, donated $100 to charity for every touchdown scored. Each team picked a charity. Concordia raised $200 for the Dorothy Day House.

"I'm glad they got money," said Schuff. "That's a really good thing to know."

According to Christopherson, the most important feature of the game was that they came out of it with only minor injuries. Wide receiver Shawn McGee suffered a pulled hamstring and defensive end Nathan Prosser has a bruised hand.

The Cobbers begin conference play this week against Gustavus.

"I feel that our team will be judged on their conference play," said Christopherson.

The last time Concordia played at Gustavus, the Cobbers walked off with a score of 48-0. Gustavus likes to pass, and Christopherson is planning strategy.

"We will have to show more 'nickel and dime' defenses," he said, referring to a strategy of putting more receivers in the game to combat a passing team.

In the Crystal Bowl, senior Greg Nielsen and junior Ethan Pole both played at quarterback. Christopherson plans to use the same philosophy against Gustavus, except Pole will start and Nielsen will play second quarter. Christopherson said the change is not based on anything, Pole did better than Nielsen; he wants to give both players an equal chance.

"Both of us are good competitors," said Nielson. "We don't take it personally. We just roll with the punches."

Despite a season opener loss, the team remains positive about the rest of the season.

"We have a lot of talent and a good coaching staff. I think we will be able to rebound," said Schuff.

Handing a 1-0 loss to St. Mary's, the Concordia men's soccer team scored its first Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win of the season.

St. Mary's defense played Concordia to a scoreless deadlock until halftime, but in the 59th minute, everthing changed. Cobber midfielder Jamie Johnson took a pass from senior defenseman Zach Brumbach and put in this fourth goal in three games to give the Cobbers the margin of victory.

St. Mary's attempted an assault on the Concordia goal in the 84th minute, but was denied. The Cobber defense still has not given up a goal this season.

Last year, St. Mary's owned a 3-6-1 record in the conference, and appeared to be mismatched going against the Cobber 12-4-0 record. Not so, said head coach Jim Cella.

"All ten conference games will be tough fights. It didn't help that [sophomore midfielder] Eric Berg has a bone bruise and [sophomore sweeper] Forrest Olsen has mono. However, Ryan Williams and Jason Leslie stepped in great for them," he said. "Our defense was solid, we missed some scoring chances, but we'll take the win."

Senior goalkeeper Chad Anderson had five saves in the game and, according to Cella, is a strong goalie. Anderson believes in communicating with his teammates and jumping into the action to retrieve the ball.

"Coach says that the goalie should own the penalty box, so everytime the ball comes in there, I go out and get it," he said.

Anderson said it takes a team effort on defense, and he makes sure defensemen know about potential threats on the field.

"Communication is the key. Maybe to the fans it is like I am yelling at them, but I am just reminding them of their responsibilities," he said.

Anderson has been a goalie since high school. He said he was the tallest guy but lacked a little foot speed. Despite this, Cella said the St. Mary's game was the best game Anderson has played at Concordia.

"He controlled the ball and is distributing it to others well. He is very mature and has developed into a fantastic goalie," said Cella.

The Cobbers have ten days before taking on the Carleton Knights. Olson's illness is improving , but Bergs' playing status is still questionable.

"What we are going to do from now until then is condition and heal the bruises, and keep on getting work done because we are a young team," said Cella. "Carleton had everyone back. It is going to be a tough road game especially because we are the league champions and everyone is looking to knock us off."

In order to train for cross-country skiing, Carrie Larsen took up running in high school. Now, as captian of the women's cross-country running team, it is more than a training method.

"I enjoy the release of it. It's a stress release," she said.

Larsen, a junior from St. Cloud, hopes to be a postive leader and wants teammates to view her as approachable. She has done a number of things to promote unity, including hosting spaghetti dinners.

For this season, Larsen plans to continue improving her time, to avoid injuries and to run strong. She finds cross-country a relaxing sport, giving her time to step away from day-to-day regimens.

"It's a time I can spend for just me," she said. "I get to run and not worry about anything else for a while."

According to Larsen, cross-country running is a huge time commitment, but she says it has helped her to become a better student by forcing her to budget time.

Cross-country has also helped Larsen deal with life situations better. She says the intense mental preparation that cross-country demands has made her "mentally tough" and able to deal with unpleasant situations.

Since the seventh grade, running has been a part of Josh Lowman's life. As a high school senior in Fargo, he was All-Conference. This year, he hopes to be a strong leader as well as a strong runner.

Lowman, a sophomore from Fargo, takes over as captain of the men's cross-country team in the absence of last year's captain, Bill Keating.

Qualifying for regionals is at the top of Lowman's list of personal goals. In order to do this, he must average 28 minutes per 8K race all season, or place in the top 50 of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference meet. Lowman also hopes to avoid injuries this season.

"I started out really good last year," he said. "I had some good races, then I had some problems with my knees."

Although Lowman feels his high school coach had the most influence on him, head coach Chris Schumacher has been an important aspect of his running career as well.

"He makes you want to work," Lowman said. "He's really more of a friend than a coach."

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